IlIBRARYOF AGiiESr'i 

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DR. SPRAGUE'S SERMON. 



OCCASIONED BY THE DEATH 



HON. STEPHEN VAN RENSSELAER. 



MeltQ(on auTi Manlk: 



SERMON 



ADDRESSED TO THE 



SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGATION IN ALBANY, 
February 3, 1839, 

THE SABBATH IMMEDIATELY SUCCEEDINri THE FDffERAL 
OF THB 

HON. STEPHEN V4N RENSSELAER. 



Bv WILLIAM B. SPRAGUE, D.D. 

u 

MINISTER OF THE SAID CONGREGATION. 



F0BLISHED BY REQUEST OF THE BEREAVED FAMILT. 




ALBANY : 

PRINTED BY PACKARD, VAN BENTHUYSEN AND CO. 
1839. 



■A^/ 



r 123 
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As this discourse may possibly meet the eye of some who 
were not acquainted with the ecclesiastical relations of Ge- 
neral Van Rensselaer, it may be proper to state, as a reason 
for excluding all biographical detail, that he was a member 
of another church ; and this brief tribute to his memory was 
designed, not to occupy the place of a funeral sermon, but 
merely as an echo to a deeply excited publick sensibility. 



TO THE 



FAMILY OF THE LATE LAMENTED 



STEPHEN VAN RENSSELAER, 



THIS DISCOURSE 



IS MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, 



EVEKY SENTIMENT OF VENERATION FOR THE MEMORY OF THEIE 
DEPARTED RELATIVE, 



EVERY FEELING OF SYMPATHY IN THE SORROWS OF THEIR 
BEREAVEMENT, 

BY THEIR SINCERE KrjBND, 

W. B. S. 



SERMON. 



Proverbs, viii. 11. 
Wisdo7ii is better than rubies. 

The word wisdom^ in its primary import, sig- 
nifies knowledge accompanied by a disposition 
to make a right use of it. In scripture, and espe- 
cially in the writings of Solomon, it commonly 
denotes true religion: and this is scarcely a 
modification of its original meaning ; for while 
true religion has its foundation in the knowledge 
of divine truth, it also includes a right state of 
the aflfections. 

A ruhy is a precious stone, of a red colour, 
sometimes verging to violet. It is of great value 
in jewelry ; and in point of hardness is second 
only to the diamond. By a common figure it is 
made to represent the most valuable earthly pos- 
sessions- 



8 

The meaning of the text then obviously is, 
that true rehgion is greatly to be preferred above 
all earthly treasures and enjoyments. And yet 
the wise man does not mean to intimate that 
earthly treasures and enjoyments are of no value; 
for the form of expression that he has adopted 
implies the contrary : the fact that wisdom is bet- 
ter than rubies, takes for granted that rubies are 
worth something. It will therefore be no depar- 
ture from the spirit of the passage, if we con- 
sider it as illustrating tlie superiority of religious 
character to earthly rank, when they are separately 
considered ; and the peculiar attractiveness of both, 
when viewed in combination. And this is what I 
purpose to do in the following discourse. 

I. We will contemplate the superiority of reli- 
gious character to earthly rank, by a reference to 
The elements of which they are composed : 
The tenure by which they are held : 
The influence they are fitted to exert. 
I. The elements of which they are composed. 
In the one case, these are mere external things ; 
in the other, they are the internal and substan- 
tial qualities of the man. 

What is it that gives a man rank among his 



fellow men ? Riches — And what are riches but 
material things — things for the eye to look upon, 
and the hands to handle, and the serpent to ap- 
appropriate as his food ? Office — And what is 
office but something that hangs about a man ra- 
ther than has its seat within him ? And what are 
all the plaudits which office may procure, but mere 
sound, as evanescent as mortal breath ? Heredi- 
tary distinction — And what is that but a bubble 
which floats down the stream of time for a few 
generations, gradually losing its bright hues, till 
it goes off into empty air ? These are the lead- 
ing elements of rank ; and are they not as inde- 
pendent of all moral qualities as the earth you 
walk upon ? I can point you to many a rich man, 
who is an oppressor ; to many a man wearing the 
badge of office, who is a political knave ; to many 
a man who counts upon honourable descent, who 
shows himself capable of most dishonourable con- 
duct : and in each case I can show you an intel- 
lectual dwarf; a being whose accidental eleva- 
tion has only contributed to make him the greater 
laughing stock to the world. I repeat — the ele- 
ments of earthly rank are only appendages, — not 
parts, of the man. 



10 

Not so with the elements of rehgious charac- 
ter. These are the graces of the Spirit — love, 
joy, meekness, faith, hope, charity; — qualities 
which are inwrought by a divine influence with 
the very texture of the soul. And now I ask 
which is to be preferred, that which pertains to 
the corruptible or the incorruptible ; that which 
involves the legitimate exercise of the noblest fa- 
culties of your nature, or that which may exist 
independently of all intellectual or moral worth ; 
that which you put on as you do a garment, or 
that which inheres in your bosom as a heaven 
born immortal principle ? 

2. The superiority of religious character to 
earthly rank appears further, from the tenure by 
which they are respectively held. The one is by 
a brittle thread which an insect or an atom can 
sunder; the other is by a golden cord, which 
Omnipotence hath formed, and which the com- 
bined energies of earth and hell cannot break. 

As those things on which earthly rank depends 
are the creature of circumstances, so also they 
are the sport of circumstances. Will a man hold 
on always upon his possessions ? Let him speak 
then to the howling tempest that threatens to 



11 

sweep away his tenements ; or to the rising flood 
or the gathering ice, that seems Hkely to bear off 
the accumulated earnings of many years ;* and 
let him see whether his voice is heard and heed- 
ed, or whether Omnipotence moves steadily for- 
ward to its work of desolation, and reduces him 
in an hour to straits, perhaps to poverty. Will 
a man who has once been elevated to honour, al- 
ways continue to wear his laurels ? If he does, 
it will not be long ; for always here can mean no- 
thing more than through this vapour of a life : not 
laurels, but corruption and the worm, inhabit the 
tomb. But in all probability they will fade upon 
his brow before the death sweat comes upon it. 
His own short-sightedness or ambition, or the 
jealousy and rivalry of others, or both combined, 
may not improbably hurry him back into as great 
obscurity as that from which he emerged. And 
look at the actual history of hereditary distinc- 
tion, especially in our own country. For a ge- 
neration or two the honours that come in this way 
seem fresh ; but before a century is past, they 

* This discourse was delivered the sabbath succeeding a violent 
storm, which was followed by a sudden breaking up of the ice in the 
Hudson, and an almost unprecedented rise of the water, occasioning an 
extensive destruction of property. 

B 



12 

are faded and worthless, and a name that was 
once great becomes common, perhaps even vul- 
gar. I venture to say, if you go back to the early 
history of your OAvn city, you will find some 
great names which have long since sunk to medi- 
ocrity, if not to insignificance ; while others have 
come up in their place, and for a few generations 
been as fragrant and glorious as they ; and now 
perhaps these may be waning into obscurity to 
make place for others still, that shall have their 
day, and then sink away, like their predecessors, 
into the shades of night. Thirty years ago, 
where was the individual whose rank, on the 
whole, compared with that of Napoleon ? Con- 
trast the conqueror at large in his glory, with the 
prisoner shut out from the world ; the palace in 
which he lived, with the stable in which he died, 
and then say what better you can write concern- 
ing " the glory of man" than that it is " as the 
flower of grass." 

I bless God that it is not so with religious cha- 
racter : that survives in its freshness, when every 
thing that is external and material goes to decay i 
the graces of the Spirit, once produced in the 
Christian, are as immortal as his existence. It 



13 

must be so ; for these graces are identified with 
his renovated nature. And still more, God him- 
self hath given the assurance that nothing shall 
ever efface his image from the believer's soul, or 
bring him into final condemnation. " Who shall 
separate us from the love of Christ?" triumphant- 
ly asks the Apostle. " No man is able to pluck 
them out of my Father's hand," saith the Saviour. 
The tyrant may invade your rights ; the robber 
may strip you of every thing ; the murderer may 
even sever the cord that unites your soul and 
body together ; but the combined energies of cre- 
ation could never effect a disunion between your 
soul and its Redeemer; never rob you of that 
richest of all gems — a religious character. 

3. The superiority of religious character to 
earthly rank will be yet further manifest from a 
view of the injiuence they are respectively fitted 
to exert: — their influence both upon happiness 
and usefulness. 

What is there in earthly rank that is adapted 
greatly to promote the happiness of an indivi- 
dual? The tendencies to unhappiness are all 
internal ; and hence some internal antidote must 
be applied to counteract them ; but all that con- 



14 

stitutes rank belongs to the exterior of a man, 
and of course cannot reach those elements of 
moral disease and wretchedness that lie hid in 
his bosom. Man's unhappiness all results from 
the fact that he is a sinner ; and what is there in 
earthly rank to meet a sinner's wants ? He has 
an unpacified conscience ; a conscience that of- 
ten embitters what would otherwise be hours of 
pleasure, and makes the judgment appear a reality 
when he would fain believe it a phantom ; and 
what can rank do to charm this troublesome in- 
habitant of the bosom into peace ? He is under 
the dominion of evil passions, which sometimes 
perhaps prey silently upon his spirit, and some- 
times wake up a tempest in his bosom ; but tell me 
in which of the elements of rank you can find any 
thing that will arrest that corrosion, or allay that 
storm. Nay, is there not much in it, that is adapt- 
ed to produce an opposite effect ; — to render a 
proud man still more proud ; a discontented man 
still more discontented ; a covetous man still more 
covetous ; and every man whose heart is not right 
with God still more self confident and forgetful of 
his dependance ? I appeal to the record of human 
experience for the proof of this ; and I venture to 



15 

say there is not one of you but can instantly re- 
cur to examples of it — cases in which earthly 
distinction has evidently been the means of per- 
petual disquietude in this world, and of prevent- 
ing all preparation for the next. Whomsoever 
else you may envy, envy not the irreligious man 
who occupies an exalted station ; for if you knew 
the whole, you would probably know that he is 
harassed with unceasing vexations by day, and 
often finds thorns in his pillow at night ; and if 
you could look down the path through which his 
spirit will be travelling ages hence, though I 
would fain hope for the best concerning him, I 
greatly fear you would see that which would 
make you cry out with horrour, " What shall it 
profit a man, if he gain the whole world and lose 
his own soul ?" 

How different, how opposite is the influence of 
religion ! That soothes the troubled conscience 
by bringing before the mind God as a forgiving 
Father. It breathes a sweet tranquillity through 
the soul ; saying to the passions, as Jesus said 
to the waves, " Peace, be still !" It inspires con- 
tentment with the allotments of Providence, which 
of itself brings happiness into any earthly condi- 



16 

tion. It produces humility, — that meek and quiet 
spirit, around which all other qualities that are 
good and praise-worthy so naturally cluster. It 
causes the soul to stay itself upon God amidst 
the vicissitudes and sorrows of life, in the sweet 
hope of being ere long released from them all, 
and put in possession of an incorruptible inheri- 
tance. 

It would be easy to show that the influence of 
religious character in favour of one's happiness, 
is far greater than that of earthly rank, in a?iy 
circumstances, even those of the greatest pros- 
perity ; but instead of attempting this, let me, 
for a moment, summon them both in the charac- 
ter of comforters to a dying bed ; and let us stand 
by, while each tries her powers to sustain that 
departing spirit. Let Rank administer her con- 
solations first ; and if they are all the soul needs, 
Religion may retire, and go forth into some other 
scene in which she will be welcome. " Thou 
art dying indeed ; but then thou art dying with 
a wreath of glory about thee. Look around and 
see that it is a palace in which thou art breath- 
ing out thy spirit. Thou hast milhons which thou 
canst yet call thine one. Raise that glassy eye 



17 

and look out of thy window once more, and re- 
flect that all within, and far beyond, the range 
of thy vision, belongs to thee. Think too how 
thy name has rung through the land — perhaps 
through the world ; and how many who have never 
seen thy face are yet familiar with thy fame. — 
Thou art dying indeed ; but it is not a vulgar 
death : there is no poverty here — no mediocrity 
here. Thou art dying ; but the pageantry that 
will attend thy funeral were itself worth dying 
for. Thou art dying; but it is not thy name 
that dies : that shall live through the vicissitudes 
of many generations : the worm that shall de- 
vour thy body, can never so much as mar thy 
glory. Lay thine head upon thy pillow then and 
die ; and let thy spirit find its last exercises on 
earth in that glorious dream that thy name shall 
not only be embalmed but emblazoned, after thou 
art gone." " And is this all the consolation," I 
hear the dying man ask, " that Rank has to im- 
part ? Then let me die in a hovel, and be buried 
under a hedge ; for not a word have I listened to 
but has echoed to this throbbing heart in a note 
of anguish. Depart then, for thou art not want- 
ed here ; and let Religion come and enter into 



18 

communion with this agonized spirit." I hear 
her speaking to him of Christ and his salvation ; 
of Christ as the behever's righteousness, the be- 
hever's hope, the behever's refuge, the behever's 
resurrection ; and the countenance of the dying 
man tells me that his wants are now met. " Here," 
exclaims he, " is no trifling with my last agony. 
It is a blessed reality which I hold when I reach 
out these arms and embrace my Saviour. I cast 
my naked soul upon him and feel safe and happy. 

"Jesus can make a dying bed, 
Feel soft as downy pillows are." 

This dying bed is become soft to me. Though 
my body is in pain there is joy in my spirit: 
thouo-h the eye of sense grows dim, the eye of 
faith grows clear and penetrating : though I can- 
not be indifferent to the sobs of friends, methinks 
they will soon be drowned in the songs of an- 
gels." The tongue hath spoken, and the eye 
moved, and the bosom heaved, for the last time ; 
but Religion hath impressed a smile even upon 
that clod ; a smile that seems to tell unutterable 
things concerning the spirit's glorious destiny. 

I have said enough to illustrate the influence 
of rank and of religion upon ones happiness : let 



19 

us now see whether there is not a corresponding 
influence exerted in respect to usefulness. 

I do not question that men of high rank with- 
out rehgion are often great pubUck benefactors. 
A rich man merely from the promptings of a 
naturally generous spirit, may distribute his pro- 
perty to supply the wants of the needy, or to 
sustain objects of publick usefulness. A man 
high in office may, from a naturally patriotic 
spirit, consecrate his influence to the promotion 
of his country's welfare ; and thus may acquire 
and deserve the reputation of a publick benefac- 
tor. But after all, if there be nothing better at 
bottom than constitutional generosity, or patriot- 
ism, or as the case may be, mere worldly policy; 
— if there be no reverence for the authority, 
and no respect to the favour, of God ; in short, 
if there be not religious principle, I cannot see 
any security for the continuance of these good 
influences, even where they actually prevail -, and 
I am never surprised if, under the scorching heat 
of temptation, this fountain of good will or pub- 
lick spirit, that seemed well nigh exhaustless, is 
dried up. And while rank furnishes no security 
that the wealth or the influence which pertains to 



20 

it will be rightly applied, does not the history of 
human experience show that in instances innu- 
merable they are fearfully misapplied ; and are 
not unfrequently worked into an engine of des- 
truction to the best interests of men ? How ma- 
ny have been left to struggle with poverty and 
distress, unassisted and unbefriended, because 
one man has been rich ! How many have been 
deprived of their natural rights, and even ground 
to the dust by the hand of oppression, because 
one man has been exalted to power ! How many 
have thrown away the gospel, and committed 
suicide in the most appalling of all senses upon 
their own souls, because some man of rank has 
played the infidel before them, and they have be- 
lieved his lies while they have been dazzled by 
his splendour ! Oh it is fearful to think to what 
purposes rank is often perverted ; how it opens 
for some fountains of tears in this world, and 
prepares others for everlasting weeping in the 
next! 

But in religion there is the most ample security 
for a useful life; for while she marks out the 
way to be useful, she also imparts the disposition 
to walk in it. She first tells a man what he ought 



21 

to do, and then sets him at his work, always 
holding out to him sufficient encouragement to 
persevere. If she is uncompromising in her 
requisitions of duty, yet she makes duty a de- 
hght to him : if she requires him to do good to 
all men as he has opportunity, yet she has so 
remoulded his spirit that he is not at home ex- 
cept in the atmosphere of benevolence. Under 
such an influence no man can be a blank in crea- 
tion. He may move in the smallest circle, or he 
may be laid upon his sick bed so that he cannot 
move at all ; he may be a slave labouring at his 
task, or he may be a prisoner shut up in a dun- 
geon ; and yet no obscurity, no calamity, no op- 
pression, can render him a cumberer of the 
ground. If he cannot move his hands in labour, 
he can move his lips in prayer ; and if his op- 
pressor forbids him to pray aloud, yet no oppress- 
or can enchain the devout and contrite spirit ; 
and in those silent exercises there may be prayer 
that will move the world. I say again. Religion 
makes her votary useful any where, every where. 
While the irreligious man, with all the means of 
usefulness at his command which this world can 
furnish, lives for purposes of mere selfish grati- 



22 

fication, and when he dies is never missed, ex- 
cept in the sense that you miss an oppressive 
burden, the true Christian, who seems to be in a 
condition most unfavorable to usefulness, is ac- 
tually doing good through his whole life; and 
when lie dies, there are some at least who per- 
ceive a chasm that they know not how to fill. 

Thus I have endeavoured to illustrate the su- 
periority of religious character to earthly rank, 
when they are separately considered. And it 
must be acknowledged that it is in this way that 
they are most commonly found ; — rank in one 
person, religion in another. Nevertheless it is 
not always so : there are a few cases in which 
wisdom and rubies are combined ; and though it 
will be always true that wisdom is better than 
rubies, — religion better than rank, yet it is no 
less true that each has some peculiar attractions^ 
when found in combination with the other. 

II. This is the second division of our dis- 
course. 

I say then, there is a sense in which earthly rank 
throws an additional attraction around religious 
character. It must be acknowledged indeed that 
the temptations incident to an exalted station 



23 

always put the Christian in jeopardy. There is 
danger that, in the enjoyment of a rich profusion 
of earthly blessings, he will lose something of 
his humility, and spirituality and selfdenial, and 
give out to the surrounding world at best a du- 
bious light ; and hence we find that, in cases not 
a few, this melancholy result has actually been 
realized. But where it is otherwise, and the 
Christian braces himself up for a conflict with 
temptation, and actually succeeds in keeping the 
tempter under his feet, there you may expect to 
see the fruits of the Spirit in some of their rich- 
est and ripest clusters ; for that very exercise of 
the faculties and affections by which this victory 
is secured, carries a sanctifying influence through 
the soul ; just as the exercise of the bodily fa- 
culties in encountering severe hardships often 
improves the physical constitution. Herein is ve- 
rified the declaration " Unto him that hath shall 
be given ;" for as the very discipline to which he 
subjects his spirit in the conflict with temptation 
brings to him an increased degree of spiritual 
strength, so also it places him on an eminence 
from which he can the more easily gain new vic- 
tories, and make higher and still higher attain- 
ments. 



24 

There is another way in which rank may con- 
tribute to purify and elevate character : — I mean 
by increasing the facihties for doing good. No- 
thing exalts the character more than the habitual 
exercise of a benevolent spirit ; for the more an 
individual has of this, the more he wears of the 
image of his Creator and Redeemer. Every man 
may do good ; but a man of high rank has means 
of doing good, which others have not ; and if he 
be a Christian and improve these means as he 
ought, you may expect to see his character shin- 
ing out with a corresponding lustre. 

And I may add, the brightest charm of all which 
rank imparts to religious character, is to be 
found in that lovely condescension for the exer- 
cise of which it furnishes an opportunity. Have 
you ever seen a man whom Providence had 
placed in a condition far above that of perhaps 
any other individual in the community in which 
he lived ? And yet have you seen him moving 
about among his inferiors with affability and 
kindness, apparently forgetful of his wealth and 
his honours, and ready to speak a word of con- 
solation, or make an offering of charity, where- 
ever it was needed ? Then you have seen a case 



25 

in which rehgious character shone the brighter 
for beinof associated with rank. What was it 
that imparted such infinite dignity to that self- 
denial and condescension which so pre-eminently 
marked the Saviour's suflfering life ? It was the 
fact that he who stooped so low was the Bright- 
ness of the Father's glory and the express image 
of his person. I do not compare human rank 
with divine majesty ; but if the condescension of 
the suffering Jesus was the greater because he 
was the Son of God, is it irreverent to say even 
in respect to a worm, that Ms condescension is 
the more attractive in proportion as he is exalted 
above his fellow worms ? 

It is no less true, on the other hand, that reli- 
gion dignifies rank. A lofty station, when filled by 
a bad man, really seems to have little attraction 
in it. We form a painful association between 
the station and the character ; and what belongs 
exclusively to the one, we attribute partly to the 
other. But let such a place be filled by a truly 
good man, — a man of generous and holy aspira- 
tions, and there is a charm about it that you 
could not feel before. You venerate the place 
now for the sake of the venerable occupant.— 



26 

You may have been accustomed to talk of world- 
ly rank as if it were nothing ; but you begin to 
feel as if you had thought of it too lightly. You 
see it reflecting beams of comfort and prosperity 
on the community in which you dwell. You ad- 
mire, and yet you cannot find it in your heart to 
envy. It is because character, religious charac- 
ter, is pouring over it its kindly influences. 

I have known a man who united religion and 
rank more eminently than almost any of his con- 
temporaries ; and though you have known him 
as well as I, I have no fear of detaining you by 
an unwelcome theme, if, now that we have laid 
him in his tomb, I endeavour to bring forth his 
endeared image to your tender and grateful re- 
collection. 

The man of whom I speak could claim as 
much perhaps on the score of earthly rank, as 
any other individual in the land. He was not 
only rich, but unlike most others in this country 
who leave a princely estate behind them, he had 
never known what it was to be otherwise. He 
was high in office, both civil and military ; for 
besides having presided in the senate of our own 
state, he has held a place in the higher council 



27 

of the nation ; and in days of peril and conflict 
lias stood at the head of an important branch of 
our army. And if any one could count upon 
family honours, it was he ; for his descent had 
been through a long line of distinguished ances- 
try. We recognized him as a sort of patrician 
among us ; and so he was regarded wherever he 
was known. 

I have spoken of his rank ; and now let me 
speak of his character. If it were my design to 
present his character before you in detail, I 
should speak here of his well balanced and well 
cultivated mind; of his discriminating and almost 
intuitive perception of character ; of his warm 
and generous heart ; of his bland and dignified 
manners ; of the inimitable ease with which he 
accommodated himself to all the different ranks 
of society : but as my design is a more limited 
one, I will ask you to contemplate him only in 
his character as a Christian ; for though it is not 
uncommon, I trust, to find faith on the earth, it 
is uncommon to find lively faith, eminent piety, 
amidst that peculiar class of temptations by 
which he was surrounded. I know little of his 
private religious history ; and yet hi one of the 



28 

last conversations which I ever had v^ith him, and 
one of the most dehghtful which I ever had with 
any body, he adverted amidst a flood of tears to 
the goodness of God in giving him an eminently 
pious mother ; and added that the recollection of 
her counsels and instructions had been the means, 
under Providence, of fixing his attention perma- 
nently on eternal things. I heard him at the 
same time, as I have done at other times, express 
the deepest sense of his own unworthiness be- 
fore God, and of his entire dependance on the 
all sufficient grace of the Saviour; and I should 
be ready to believe, as well from my own obser- 
vation as from the testimony of others, that hu- 
mility was a prominent feature in his religious 
character. I have heard how constant and de- 
vout he was in leading his family to the throne 
of the heavenly grace. I have heard how highly 
he valued the privilege of approaching the sacra- 
mental table; how, after disease had fastened 
itself upon him so strongly that he could make 
no calculations in respect to the future, he seem- 
ed to be watching his own feehngs from day to 
day, that he might judge of the probability of his 
being privileged to go, perhaps for the last time, 



29 

and commemorate his Redeemer's death. But 
that trait of his Christian character which drew 
toward him the pubHc eye more than any other, 
was his noble philanthropy; — his being "rich 
in good works, ready to distribute, willing to 
communicate." The circle of his benevolent 
regards embraced the whole family of man. If 
the greater streams of his charity were directed 
toward those greater objects whose field of influ- 
ence is the world, there were innumerable rills 
of refreshing bounty which he caused to circu- 
late among the habitations of the poor. If many 
of our great benevolent institutions reckoned him 
as their most liberal benefactor, there was many 
a destitute widow who rejoiced amidst her sor- 
rows because his kindness had reached her, and 
many a little orphan who, without any prompt- 
ing, would speak forth his praise. And he was 
as unostentatious as he was liberal in his bene- 
factions. He took counsel of the good provi- 
dence of our Heavenly Father, whose richest 
blessings, like the dew, fall gently and silently 
upon us. It was no pleasure to him to see his 
charities emblazoned in a newspaper ; it was 
enough that they were recorded in Heaven. 



30 

I bless God that, after having spoken of the dig- 
nity of his rank, I have been able to say so much, 
and might, if it were proper, add much more in 
respect to the dignity of his character. And 
now I ask, where shall we look for a more fa- 
voured or a more honoured life than his ? I have 
seen but little of him in his family ; but there, I 
understand, he was a very patriarch. That gen- 
tleness and kindness which he reflected on the 
much loved circle, were reflected back upon him- 
self; and there was an attraction in his look and 
manner which made even the little child eager to 
climb upon his knees to do him honour. We 
saw him from time to time moving about among 
us ; but with just as little parade as one of his 
own tenants would have exhibited. We knew 
that there were honours hanging thick about him, 
but we saw nothing in his manner that was in- 
tended to remind us of it. And if there be a 
being that ever envied him, / know him not ; but 
I know that some who have lived by his side 
for more than half a century, will testify, that 
they never heard a whisper to his disadvantage. 
The old and the young, the rich and the poor, 
the obscure and the honourable, were ever ready 



31 

to do him homage. He was mdeed, for a con- 
siderable time previous to his death, afflicted by a 
most painful malady ; but he was always in the 
bosom of conjugal and filial kindness; and his 
friends who were privileged from time to time to 
visit him, saw that he knew how to be dignified 
in suflfering as well as in joy. And when the last 
scene came, his Redeemer treated him so gently 
that his friends who were ministering around him 
knew not the moment of the spirit's flight ; and 
before the agonizing shock which the annuncia- 
tion of his departure occasioned, was felt, there 
can be no doubt that scenes of heavenly rapture 
were bursting upon his disenthralled soul. His 
funeral, I thank God, had nothing of pageantry 
about it ; but who did not consider it a privilege 
to be in the long procession that moved after that 
cofiin ? The tidings of his death flew off" upon 
the winds in every direction ; and the newspa- 
pers are coming back to us in mourning to tell 
us how those tidings have been received. 

How dark and still was the place where we 
left him ! But methinks that sepulchral silence 
is broken by a voice from the dead to the living. 
It is a voice to the mourner. " Wipe away those 



32 

flowing tears, and let the cheerful smile relume 
thy countenance. It is not I that those who car- 
ry out the dead have brought hither, — but only a 
corruptible appendage of myself; not the spirit 
which used to soothe and comfort and commune 
with you, but that crazy tenement which you have 
watched over so long, and which has sometimes 
made you weep for its excruciating agony. — 
Since the spirit which you loved is the com- 
panion of angels, be not concerned for any tem- 
porary dishonour into which this body may have 
been brought, especially as it waits here only to 
be the subject of a reanimating and refining pro- 
cess from the Resurrection and the Life." It is 
a voice to the prosperous. " Forget not that God 
requires of you according to what he bestows 
upon you ; that in making you rich he has con- 
stituted you his almoners ; and that the day is 
coming, when it will be worth every thing to you 
to have been found faithful." It is a voice to the 
poor. " Trust ye in the widow's and the orphan's 
God ; and fear not that there will be one more 
bitter ingredient in your cup than infinite good- 
ness sees best for you. Lay not your garlands 
at the door of my tomb ; but cast every offering 



33 

of gratitude at our Redeemer's feet." It is a 
voice to the ambitious. " Honours, earthly ho- 
nours have clustered upon me in other days ; 
but see what are the honours of the sepulchre ! 
Covet only the distinction of an humble disciple 
of Jesus. All beside will appear as chaff when 
you come to view it in the twilight of life." It 
is a voice to all. " Lay up for yourselves trea- 
sure in heaven. Let what will become of the 
body, make provision for the immortal spirit. 
Receive Christ as the foundation of your hope, 
the refuge of your soul. Behold now is the day 
of salvation !" The silence of the tomb is re- 
stored. Rest there, Father, Saint, till the voice 
of the archangel shall break thy slumber ! 



